Road Trip Stuart

09/05/2026

I’ve spent the last two weeks riding in Spain, my favourite country. I did the odd post, but I decided that I would rather live in the movement and enjoy the freedom that I was enjoying, than post about the days. I will however share one particular day with you. When moments of calm come in to your life I believe you should embrace them fully. Such a moment came to me on the day I discovered the A1702 close to Teruel; La Ruta del Silencio (The Silent Road). It is a magnificent road, though short at just 63kms long, yet it will leave its mark upon this rider, it’s one of the finest roads I have ridden. It is in place fast with wide open sweeping curves. But it’s beauty lies in the canyon it follows for most of its length, that has taken millennia to create. The road follows the river deep in to the rock and back out again over a few passes, a line of tarmac slavishly built to connect communities, but really I believe the architect was a motorcyclist. I stopped to take a few photos, but none do it justice, sometimes the best camera is the one within your mind. That is filled of images of rock, trees, condors circling in the clear blue sky and stillness. Very few people use the road, so when I stopped, there was just silence, only interrupted by bird song. And at the end of the road I discovered , with the help of Google maps, a monastery where I could sleep for the night. The monks could not have been more welcoming and gave me a brief tour of the property before showing me to my room, which was far from being austere. The monastery was set up in the 13th century, though it had been rebuilt in the 16th century after a disaster. They grow all their own crops, including olives and I’m glad to say grapes for wine. I sat in the gardens as the sunset and reflected upon my day and the surprises it had shown me. I was surrounded by glorious nature, all I could hear was the wind in the trees and birds preparing for the still of the night. And calm had indeed found me. As with all things in life the moment may have passed, but its a memory will not.

24/04/2026

There are few things in this world that bring me joy as much as motorcycles and mountains. Add to that a helping of outstanding natural beauty and you have a very happy man. The Picos De Europa in northern Spain are a small range of mountains just two hours ride from the port of Santander, where I arrived on the morning of 22nd April. A quick spin down the motorway and then you are on the N621, which is one of Spains best biking roads. I like to be away from busy towns, I like to be immersed in the mountains and that is exactly what the hamlet of Cain de Valdeón gives you. It is surrounded by towering peaks, where condors circle high and rivers cascade in their timeless flow. And as a bonus, this is the gateway to Pasarela de la press de Cain: a hiking path that has been cut in to the canyon wall and allows you to walk in to its depths. It is majestic, peaceful and jaw droppingly beautiful. It’s hard to find calm in the world we live in,especially at the moment, but for a brief moment, it has found me here.

02/04/2026

As a 16 year old lad I would ride my Suzuki moped to college, as I approached the last set of traffic lights I had to turn left towards another day of engineering lessons. Every day as I waited for the lights to turn green, I would wonder what it would be like to just ride straight ahead and discover what’s over the horizon? It would take many years before I took that step, but on 2nd April 2007, I did just that. I would spend 2 years chasing the horizon around the globe, discovering the world and myself.
I experienced the generosity of strangers, overcame fears that I didn’t even know I had, witnessed both the beauty and the harshness of the planet and its people. I would ride over the highest road in the world, bump in to the Dali Lama, as you do, cross desserts, mountains, ride in to the Arctic Circle, and meet lifelong friends, many of which are in this group. There were experiences that were distinctly uncomfortable at the time, which pushed me physically and psychologically. All these experiences shaped and changed me, but they changed me for the better.
On this day every year, I reflect on the many fantastic life experiences I have been privileged to have since those days, waiting at the traffic lights. I reflect on how life has changed, the many great rides that those first journeys have spawned and how grateful I am that I found the courage to change my life and turn left no longer.

01/12/2025

Indeed

20/10/2025

I`ve finally got around to sorting my photos from July`s trip to Mongolia. It`s a country I`ve wanted to visit for many years, but even though I have now been, I`m still unsure of what to make of it. It’s an incredibly contrasting country, it’s 3 times the size of France, with a population of just 3.5 million. Of which 1.5 million live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
When most people think of this area, you think wide open spaces, yurts, horses, camels, Chinngis Khan. You don`t think Lamborghini’s, punks and electric scooters; buts that what you get in the Capital city. Once you are out of the city it’s a sprawling mass of dirt track, with almost no road signs, so without local knowledge or a good GPS, you would be going in circles. The countryside just rolls on for miles and miles of grassland, with hardly any trees.
I was there for the Naadam Festival, which has a grand opening ceremony, with spectacular horsemanship, choreographed dancing, famous singings (in Mongolia) and fireworks fireworks. The main activities of the festival are horse racing, which is only undertaken by boys under 15 years old, wrestling by some of the biggest men I have ever seen and archery that is a competition for both sexes. There is also a very strange activity of “bone flicking”. I wasn’t particularly captivated by this is the country’s biggest even and the whole country has a week long holiday. It was however an interesting insight to the life of the country.
The festival also highlights the nations respect, actual the reverence to which they hold Ghenngis Khan. He is the national hero. I cannot think of another country that hold a historic figure from 800 years ago with such esteem. Every museum has something about the “success” of the Mongols, every building has a portrait of him, he is on the bank notes, there is a 45 metre statue of him on a hill where he may have been born (148 feet in old money), and they have even named the nation’s most popular large after him!
We travelled every day and headed south in to the Gobi Desert and only covered a fraction of the country. We only saw a few trees and just one river. It’s a country that does warrant greater exploration, so it will stay on my travel radar. The great takeaway I will take from the country is the kindness and friendliness of the people. And most encouraging of all, the lack of litter. So often when you travel now, you experience plastic everywhere, but not here. It comes from their belief that we are from the earth and we will return to the earth, so you must treat the land with respect. We could learn much from this philosophy.

23/06/2025

I have for a number of years wanted to ride the famous balcony roads of southern France, so I took a detour when riding to meet up with a group of mates a few weeks ago. Carved in to the canyon cliff face, the Cirque de Combe Laval winds through small tunnels before giving you vistas over the valley below. It made a great precursor to meeting up with my brother just outside the fortress city of Briancon and a week in a luxurious chalet and some great roads up and over a few mountain passes in the French Alps.

24/04/2025

This day 8 years ago; 1128 KMs to the next turn. It can only be one place; Australia!

14/04/2025

Paul from Mental Health Motorbike and I speak with Clive and Noel from the TAM Pod. Out now where ever you find your podcasts

https://www.tampodcast.com/tamp-season-7-episode-23-mental-health-motorbike-paul-oxborough-and-stuart-ringer/

The Trail and Adventure Motorbike Podcast is created by Clive Barber and Noel Thom. They are not inspirational, and they will not provide motivation to get you off…

02/04/2025

18 years ago today, 2nd April 2007, I set off on my first big motorcycle ride, from the UK to Cambodia, riding through europe, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and finally Cambodia. I never imagined how much this journey would end up changing me. Through this journey and those that would follow, the adventures that I would have, the places I would see, the people I would meet and the great friendships that would come from my travels I have learnt so much and grown in ways I never though possiable.

And that bike has never looked that clean ever again 😂

23/08/2024

I want to say a huge thank you to Mental Health Motorbike for sponsoring me through this course. I would highly recommend everyone to take the course and learn valuable skills and language, that can help those around us and anyone who is suffering poor mental health. We all have mental health, it’s just whether it’s good, or bad. Helping those that are having a poor experience gives them hope. Hope is what creates change 💪